Effect of extrusion parameters on primary recycled ABS: mechanical, rheological, morphological and thermal properties

Abstract

This paper reports the effect of twin screw extrusion (TSE) process parameters on primary (1°) recycled acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) for possible 3D applications. The ABS (virgin/recycled) is one of the most widely used thermoplastic materials for fused deposition modeling (FDM) based 3D printing of functional prototypes. But hitherto little has been reported on improving the mechanical/ rheological/morphological and thermal properties of (1°) recycled ABS while extrusion without any reinforcement (i.e. without secondary (2°) recycling). In this work the granules of 1°recycled ABS have been extruded after ascertaining suitable process parameters of TSE (namely: screw temperature, torque and dead weight). The results of study suggests that screw temperature 210°C, 0.3Nm torque and dead weight of 13 kg are the best settings for TSE in the present case study. The TSE based extruded 1°recycled ABS has improved crash resistance properties (as modulus of toughness was significantly improved to 3.261 MPa (from 0.191 MPa (for non TSE processed) and 0.081 for virgin ABS).

Different rotations in the acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene extrusion process and their influence on fracture and mechanical properties

“…Among the polymers, acrylonitrile-butadienestyrene (ABS) stands out. The copolymer, formed by styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN), has characteristics such as thermal and chemical resistance to acrylonitrile, though the gloss, moldability and rigidity are conferred by styrene, the incorporation of butadiene rubber confers a greater mechanical resistance against impacts to the material [9].…”

Toward Mechanical Recycling of Polystyrene/Polypropylene Blends with Bottlebrush-Modified Graphene Oxide as a Compatibilizer

“…Another significant challenge for generating materials with predictable and controllable physicomechanical characteristics via mechanical recycling is an “asymmetry” in the melt viscosity of the blend components. In fact, numerous semicrystalline materials made of polyolefins, such as fibers and films, are fabricated from polymers having a relatively low melt viscosity, − while a significant number of engineering thermoplastics (e.g., PS, ABS, high impact PS [HIPS]) have a significantly higher melt viscosity. ,− The asymmetry causes the phase inversion point for the blend to be shifted toward the low-viscosity component since high viscosity polymers tend to be a dispersed phase …”